Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore has joined the leaders of different faiths to welcome the Israel-Hamas ceasefire as he expressed solidarity with Palestine.
“Finally, God has answered our prayers. Inshallah [if Allah wills] we shall continue this struggle. Many Palestinian Christians have embraced martyrdom with our Muslim brothers. We condemn violence by Israel and urge peace so that the locals can live with dignity,” said the archbishop.
Archbishop Shaw was addressing a May 21 interfaith press conference at the chapel of St. Anthony’s High School in Lahore along with Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, the special representative of the prime minister for religious affairs, and other religious leaders. Bishop Irfan Jamil of the Church of Pakistan also expressed concern for families of the deceased.
With both sides claiming success, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants kicked in early on May 21 after 11 days of conflict that left behind 243 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead as well as scores of wounded on both sides.
Fighting began in Gaza on May 10 after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site.
The Lahore press conference was among many events that marked the Solidarity Day with Palestinians in Pakistan. Civil society groups held solidarity protests and voiced their concerns over human rights violations in Palestine.
Pakistan’s left has taken a central role in denouncing Israeli aggression and rejecting US imperialism
“Peace not war “stated placards held by participants of a protest camp by Rawadari Tehreek, a movement promoting pluralism, at Lahore Press Club.
“Pakistan’s left has taken a central role in denouncing Israeli aggression and rejecting US imperialism. All those who accused us of being foreign agents should be ashamed of themselves. They are the ones who turned Pakistan into a rentier state while the left is defending Pakistan’s political and economic sovereignty,” said academic and activist Ammar Ali Jan in a Facebook post.
Pope Francis also expressed gratitude on May 21 for the ceasefire in the Holy Land while warning that the Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that the world struggles to find common solutions to shared problems.
“I take this occasion to ask all the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church to unite themselves spiritually with this prayer,” he said, asking every Catholic community to pray so that “Israelis and Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness, be patient builders of peace and justice, and be open, step by step, to a common hope, to coexistence among brothers and sisters.”
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